


Abracadabra

by Shuggins



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Powers, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Angst, F/F, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Misunderstandings, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-15
Updated: 2019-10-15
Packaged: 2020-12-16 15:56:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,459
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21038831
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shuggins/pseuds/Shuggins
Summary: When Max turned 13 she was enraptured by her new ability to hear whatever song her soulmate was listening to. However after the novelty of the experience faded Max soon became painfully aware of a certain quirk her soulmate had. Lots of times whenever her soulmate was listening to a song, they would pause it, then rewind to a part they were particularly attached to, over and over and over...and over.





	Abracadabra

**Author's Note:**

> highly recommend you listen to the songs from each chapter as you read
> 
> Songs in this chapter
> 
> Abracadabra - Steve Miller Band
> 
> Fox On The Run - Sweet

_*shkt*_

Abra-Abracadabra, I wanna reach out and grab ya

Abra-Abracadabra, abracadabra

*shkt*

Abra-Abracadabra, I wanna reach out and grab ya

Abra-Abracadabra, abracadabra

*shkt*

Abra-Abracadabra, I wanna reach out and grab ya

Abra-Abracadabra, abracadabra

Max groaned and sat up in her bed, it seems her soulmate has gotten up early today.

Ever since Max Mayfield turned thirteen, she’s been able to hear whatever song her soulmate is currently listening to. Just like everyone else on earth who was at or past that age. At first she was excited and absolutely enraptured when she first heard her soulmate listen to Whip it by Devo, for those first few months whenever a song got stuck in her soulmate’s head she’d stop whatever she was doing and write down the lyrics she heard so she could find the song later.

However, after the novelty of the experience faded Max soon became painfully aware of a certain quirk her soulmate had. Lots of times whenever her soulmate was listening to a song, they would pause it, then rewind to a part they were particularly attached to, over and over. Max found this quirk cute at first, but it quickly turned to irritating when she was trying to write essays or do equations for class and would constantly have to hear a repeat of whatever lyric this stranger was obsessed with at that moment. Max swore that when she found out who they were the first thing she was going to do was give them a slug in the arm for all the essays and quizzes she failed because she couldn’t focus thanks to their habit.

_*shkt*_

_Abra-Abracadabra, I wanna reach out and grab ya_

_ Abra-Abracadabra, abracadabra_

As Max got up from her bed and began to get ready for school she shoved one of her new cassettes into her boombox on the desk so she could drown out her soulmate’s music. When Max’s music is playing her soulmate usually stops listening to their own, it’s a strange silent agreement between the two, the only real communication they’ve ever had, if you can even call it that. Max also does the same whenever they start playing a song when she’s already listening to something, albeit very reluctantly. Fox On The Run by Sweet began playing as she got ready for another mind-numbing day at Hawkins High.

El sighed as she took off her headphones, pulled the tape out of her worn walkman and laid back in her bed. A song she had never heard before now flooded her brain as she closed her eyes.

_I - don't wanna know your name_  
_ 'Cause you don't look the same_  
_ The way you did before_

El was always excited when she heard a new song from her soulmate, she liked to imagine that they would play a new song in order to say something to her that they couldn’t say with words, she wondered idly what the hidden message could be with this one.

_Okay - you think you got a pretty face_  
_ But the rest of you is out of place_  
_ You looked alright before_

El blanched and couldn’t help but giggle, on second thought, she hoped her soulmate was just listening to this one because it sounded good and not as a convoluted way of insulting her. A light rapping of knuckles on her door frame pulled her from her thoughts.

“Hey, you gotta get up now or you won’t have time for breakfast.” Will, her stepbrother said as he poked his head through the cracked door.

El has been living with the Byers for two years now, well I guess they’re called the Hoppers/Byers now, ever since her dad Jim Hopper married Joyce Byers. But Will and his 20-year-old brother Jonathan decided to keep their last names, mostly because at this point with one being an adult and the other nearly so at 15 years old it seemed unnecessary. For El It’s been an interesting process trying to acclimate to living with siblings and a nuclear family dynamic.

Back when she lived in a foster home, she didn’t have any of that, her only supportive figure from birth until she was 12 was an abusive foster parent that cared more about the tax benefits and government checks that came with fostering a child and less so about actually caring for one. Eventually a surprise wellness check by a cps officer was her savior and her abuser’s downfall. That’s how she found herself into the care of Jim Hopper and eventually, the Byers family.

“I’m getting up now, close the door, please.” El mumbled as she stood up and began rifling through her drawers for clothes to change into.

_Fox on the run_  
_ You scream, and everybody comes a running_  
_ Take a run and hide yourself away_

El found herself humming to the song as she got changed and ready for the day. Once she was downstairs, she practically inhaled her eggs and oatmeal as Will and Jonathan were trying to rush her out the door in the nicest way they could. El still can’t keep up with the flurry of energy that the Byers turn into during the mornings, people moving in and out of rooms picking up important items strewn about the house like keys, textbooks and notepads, only stopping their scurrying to impatiently wait for the bathroom before bursting in once it was vacated and bursting out at an equally energetic pace. Hopper has long given up on trying to adapt to this flow and just quietly sits in the living room sipping his coffee waiting for everyone to leave so he can start his morning. El does not have that luxury sadly since Jonathan is the younger sibling’s ride to school they need to leave early so that he has enough time to get to work. El stuffs her textbooks into her backpack and yells a hasty goodbye into the house before running out to meet Will and Jonathan who are already waiting in the car.

She stops in her tracks when she’s about halfway across the lawn and turns around, then begins sprinting back into the house, ignoring Jonathan’s exasperated groan.

_Fox is on the run_  
_ F-foxy_  
_ Fox on the run_  
_ And hide away_

She practically jumped into the living room and down the hall, Hopper mumbled a half-hearted “don’t run in the house” that fell on deaf ears as El ran into her room and picked up her forgotten Walkman from the bed, she ran back outside and winced a bit as she accidentally slammed the front door, she’d be hearing about that when she got home. Jonathan had pulled out of the driveway and onto the street in her absence. Once El had clambered into the backseat she barely had time to close her door before Jonathan began driving down the street.

Once El had her door closed and her seatbelt on she let out a deep breath. Midway through the third repeat of the mystery “Fox“ song it was cutoff, El assumed that her soulmate must be done getting ready too, she’s known for a while now that she at least lives in the same time zone as her soulmate, and she knows that they’re probably a high schooler too since they begin listening to music about an hour or two after El gets out of school at 2:30. Her heart fluttered at the thought that they might actually got to Hawkins High too, but she knows that’s probably a long shot. Most people don’t meet their soulmates until their mid to late twenties. And she knows that most high schools in the state of Indiana have the same schedule. It’s a long shot but she can’t help but imagine who it might be, she secretly hoped it was Mike Wheeler. Ever since Will introduced El to him, she couldn’t help but feel drawn to Mike. He’s awkward, witty and overflowing with passion for his interests, often going on long spiels about a dnd campaign he’s planning or how many frequencies his new Sony Kenwood 2100 walkie talkie can cover. El honestly didn’t care much for the content of what Mike was usually saying but just seeing him be excited about such mundane things was something she always admired about him.

El pulled her headphones over her ears and placed her thumb and forefinger on the well-worn stop and play button. She began absently replaying her favorite part of Abracadabra as she daydreamed about what it would be like when she finally met her soulmate.

_*shkt*_

_Abra-Abracadabra, I wanna reach out and grab ya_

_ Abra-Abracadabra, abracadabra_

_ *shkt*_

_Abra-Abracadabra, I wanna reach out and grab ya_

_ Abra-Abracadabra, abracadabra_

_ *shkt*_

_Abra-Abracadabra, I wanna reach out and grab ya_

_ Abra-Abracadabra, abracadabra_

**Author's Note:**

> sorry for starting a new project while still leaving Heartaches by The Numbers on ice, I promise i'm not giving up on it, I've just been really busy and have had this idea on the backburner for too long
> 
> Leave a kudos and comment if you liked it, I really love reading your guy's feedback


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